Bradford tikkas all the boxes! Lord Mayor’s Civic Reception marks six years as Curry Capital Winner

CURRY CAPITAL: The winning restaurateurs with Lord Mayor Geoff Reid and members of the ‘Visit Bradford’ tourism team

The humble curry is having a bit of a moment in Bradford, as the city has cooked its way in a flurry of spice and tastiness to its sixth consecutive win in the esteemed national competition.

The winning teams behind this year's Curry Capital competition gathered in the grandeur of Bradford’s City Hall on Thursday 1st December, to celebrate the tremendous win.

Hosted by Lord Mayor Councillor Geoff Reid and his wife the Lady Mayoress, the official awards presentation celebrated the record-breaking achievements of those involved in Bradford's 2016 Curry Capital Bid, as the city retained the title for another year.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, said: “To have been crowned Curry Capital for the sixth consecutive year is a great honour and a fantastic accolade for the city. I would like to thank the team behind the bid for working tirelessly to keep a hold of the title.”

Guests at the event were welcomed into the City Hall with a drinks reception and followed by afternoon tea before the teams were awarded with official Curry Capital trophies.

Among those receiving awards for their contribution to the competition were: Shabir Hussain of Akbars, Fawad Shoukat of Aakash, Mohammed Rafiq of Kiplings and Faisal Hussein of Shimla Spice.

Each year, the entry is co-ordinated by the tourism team at Visit Bradford – the destination marketing organisation for Bradford Metropolitan District City Council.

Tricia Tillotson, tourism manager at Visit Bradford, said: “To be named as Curry Capital of Britain for a record-breaking sixth year in a row is amazing and we're very grateful to all of those who have been involved in this years’ bid.

“It has been an honour to receive an invitation to such a prestigious event by the Lord Mayor to celebrate the achievements and success of all those who helped to make the 2016 bid bigger and better than ever.”

The event was attended by Colleen Groves, the wife of the late Peter Groves, founder of the Curry Capital Competition. Mrs Groves praised the Bradford team for their level of co-operation and the promotion of community throughout the competition.

Other guests included Soraya Overend and Jacqueline Vicars from Bradford Ministry of Food Centre, who held a workshop as part of the Curry Capital BID which taught people from Fresh Start 4 U to cook curry with ingredients from the Curry Capital garden. The Fresh Start 4 U project helps substance abusers with their addictions and is one of several community projects supported by Bradford's 2016 Curry Capital bid.